FYS Internet Controversies

Syllabus

Week 1 (Sept 5) Overview of the Internet: Who's in Charge

What are the parts of the Internet? Who runs it, who regulates it? A small example controversy: ICANN and the domain name system.

Nell Dale and John Lewis, Computer Science Illuminated, Jones and Bartlett, 2004. Chapter 15: Networks, pp. 475--495.
Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Basic Books, NY, 1999. Chapter Seven: What things regulate. pp 85-99.
Thomas Crampton, ``Agency Rejects .xxx Suffixes for Sex-Related Sites on Internet,'' New York Times March 31, 2007.
Milton Mueller, ``Triple X, Internet Content Regulation and the ICANN Regime,'' Internet Governance Project, Jan 16, 2007. (5 pages) Download from www.internetgovernance.org 6/27/2007.

Week 2 (Sept 10) Overview of the Internet: How it Works

Introduction to the Internet protocol stack. A controversy at the network (IP) layer: Net Neutrality.

James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, Computer Networking, Addison Wesley, 2005. Section 1.7 Protocol Layers and Their Service Models, pp. 44 -- 52.
Lab: We meet in Room 014, basement level of Seeley Mudd Building, for:
- Demonstrations of Internet protocols: Ethernet, TCP/IP, ping, traceroute, netstat, whois.
- Visit Internet support services: DNS, Internet Registrars, ISP's.
- Visit Google, Wikipedia.
For Thursday:
James F. Kurose and Keith W. Ross, Computer Networking, Addison Wesley, 2005. Section 1.3 The Network Core, pp 14 -- 24. Section 4.4.4 IPv6, pp 344--351. Section 7.1.3 How Should the Interent Evolve to Support Multimedia Better? pp 571 -- 572.
Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas, Vintage Press, 2002. Chapter 3: Commons on the Wires. pp 26--48.

W3 (S17) Reliability of Information

What kind of information is out there on the Internet? How much can you trust the information you find? Critiques of Google; of Wikipedia and nonauthoritative web sources.

Leah Graham and Panagoitis Takis Metaxas, `` `Of course it's true; I saw it on the Internet!' Critical thinking in the Internet era,'' Communications of the ACM, May 2003, Vol 46, No 5. pp 71--75.
Narayana S Murali, MD, et al. ``Impact of FUTON and NAA Bias on Visibility of Research,'' Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2004 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, v79, 2007. pp 1001-1006.
Peter Denning, Jim Horning, David Parnas, and Lauren Weinstein, ``Inside risks: Wikipedia risks,'' Communications of the ACM V 48, No 12 (2005), pp. 152-153. Keyword search at ACM Portal.
Kristin Palpini, ``Colleges, high schools wrestle with Wikipedia Use,'' Daily Hampshire Gazette, p1. April 3, 2007.
John Seigenthaler, ``A false Wikipedia `biography','' USA Today. Posted 11/29/2005; retrieved 5.30,2007. www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-11-29-wikipedia-edit_x.htm.
Web: Read ``Seigenthaler controversy,'' in Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigenthaler_controversy
For Thursday:
Aixing (I Song) Yao and Marc Abrams, ''Chapter 14: Searching for Documents on the Web,'' in Marc Abrams, ed., World Wide Web: Beyond the Basics, Prentice Hall 1998. pp 273--288.
Burton Callicott and Debbie Vaughn, ``Google Scholar vs Library Scholar: Testing the Performance of Schoogle,'' in William Miller and Rita M. Pellen, eds. Libraries and Google (Co-published in Internet Reference Services Quarterly), Vol 10, Numbers 3/4, 2005. pp 71--88.
Web: Look up ``Criticism of Google: PageRank System,'' In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia en.wikipedia.org.
Web: Visit www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html, ``The technology behind Google's great results,'' Google, posted 4/1/2002. Find out how PageRank works.
Lab: We meet today in the Library to learn about academic research tools and techniques.

W4 (S24) Open Source and Copyright -- the Smackdown

What can be copyrighted? How do you get a copyright? What is fair use? What is the difference between source code and machine code? What is open source? Which is more appropriate for source code: copyright or copyleft? Will open source ruin civilization?

Lemley et al, ``Introduction to Computer Technology, Network Economics, and Intellectual Property Law,'' in Software and Internet Law, 2000. Section C: How Software is Made, pp 17 -- 29.
Eben Moglen, ``Freeing the Mind: Free Software and the Death of Proprietary Culture,'' available at emoglen.law.columbia.edu .
Web: United States Copyright Office. ``Copyright Basics,'' http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html. Read the first 9 bullet items, up to ``How Long Copyright Protection Endures''.
Web: Read the Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (Retail) End-User License Agreement for Microsoft Software (June 1, 2004), Microsoft. www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/eula.mspx (June 1, 2004). This is an example of a closed-source license.
Web: Read the GNU General Public License, www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html. Also read the FAQ page. This is an example of an open-source license.
For Thursday:
Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Portfolio Press, 2006. Chapter 10: Collaborative Minds. pp. 268-290.
Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas, Vintage Press, 2002. Chapter 4: Commons Among the Wired. pp 49 -- 72

W5 (O1) Downloading Music and Video

Music and video are certainly copyrightable. What are your rights and responsibilities regarding Peer to Peer (P2P) networks and music downloads? What are the responsibilities and policies of service providers such as uTube, myspace, and Amherst College, regarding your (possibly illegal) activities? Are these rights and responsibilities appropriate?

For Tuesday:

Lawrence Lessig, The Future of Ideas, Vintage Press, 2002. Chapter 8: Innovation from the Internet. pp. 120 - 141.
Pamela Samuelson, ``What's at Stake in MGM v. Grokster?'', Communications of the ACM February 2004, vol 47, No2. pp 15-20.
- Visit Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org. Look up terms like P2P and ``file sharing and the law''
- Visit Grokster www.grokster.com. Read the message at that site, and visit the first of two copyright-information links shown there. What are your rights and responsibilities?
- What is the current uTube policy regarding publication of copyrighted material?
- What is the current myspace policy?
Hand out second and third writing assignments (a website and a paper). Thursday:
Electronic Frontier Foundation, When Push Comes to Shove: A Hype-Free Guide to Evaluating Technical Solutions to Copyright Infringements on Campus Networks, download from www.eff.org, 6/29/2007.
Web: The rules are changing daily as I write this syllabus. I can't keep up. Visit the following sites for news of current events regarding Digital Rights Management (DRM) of copyrighted online material. Report your findings to the class.
- Visit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). www.eff.org. Look for news under the categories Fair Use and DRM, File Sharing, Intellectual Property, and News.
- Visit Computing Research Association (CRA) www.cra.org Look for news under Govt' Affairs, and Policy Blog.
- Visit Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) www.acm.org. Look for news under Public Policy: USACM.
- What other authoritative sources of policy information can you find?

W5.5 (O8 Fall Break) How to Make Web Content

We meet Thursday only.

Web: Read Lars M. Garshol, ``How the web works: HTTP and CGI explained,'' www.garshol.priv.no/download/text/http-tut.html
Web: Read Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton, Web Style Guide, 2nd ed., webstyleguide.com.
Online Tutorial: TBA
Lab: We meet in Seeley Mudd 014 to make a practice website. For content, bring some draft copy as described in the assignment.

W6 (O15) Code as Free Speech

Some say the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) imposes an unconstitutional restraint on free speech, because code is speech. This belief has turned a civil protest. Who's right, who's wrong? How might you use the web to protest something effectively?

Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture, Vintage Press 2004. Parts of Chapter Ten: Property, pp 147-- 161.
Andrew Grosso, ``Why the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a Failure of Reason,'' Communications of the ACM February 2002, V45, No 2. pp 19-23.
Barbara Simons, ``The ACM Declaration in Felten v. RIAA'', Communications of the ACM, October 2001, Vol 44, No. 10. pp 23-26.
Web: Look up the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Public Law 105-304, 105th Congress. Read Titles I (anticircumvention) and II (safe harbor provision).
Web: Look at Title 17 of the United States Code (Chapter 12, Section 1201) to see what clarifications are offered and what exemptions are allowed to DMCA.
Web: Look up the free speech provision in the Bill of Rights.
For Thursday:
E. Gabriella Colemen, ``At the Center and Margins of the Liberal Tradition: How Hacker Political Protest Secured Novel Free Speech Principles,'' manuscript 2007. biella@gmail.com
David S. Touretzky, ``Free Speech Rights for Programmers,'' Communications of the ACM, V44, N8 (August 2001), pp. 23-25.
Web: Visit David S. Touretzky, ``Gallery of CSS Descramblers.'' Available at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Gallery.
Web: Visit Touretzky's ``Gallery of DMCA Abuses'' www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DMCA/Gallery.
Web: Visit Ed Felton's blog, Freedom to Tinker, www.freedom-to-tinker.com.

W7 (O22) Student Presentations and Lab

Student websites were due last Friday. We meet in 014 Seeley Mudd this week.

Surf the FYS Student Presentations to see what your friends are up to. Prepare your questions and critiques.
Tuesday Lab:Student presentations of on line projects.
Thursday Lab: More demos if necessary. Also, a tour of privacy threats and protections on the Internet.
- Privacy at the Link level: eavesdropping on Ethernet and Wireless Ethernet.
- Privacy at the Network Level: spam, firewalls, packet sniffers.
- Privacy at the Application level: RSA and secure transactions, The Web of Trust, Cookies, Web Anonymizers, Email anonymizers, Pretty Good Privacy (PGP).

W8 (O29) Privacy Overview

What is privacy? What are the Internet threats to privacy? Privacy policy and privacy law, and strategies for ensuring privacy is protected.

Tuesday:

Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Basic Books, 1999. Chapter Eleven: Privacy. pp 142-163.
Brock N. Meeks, ``Electronic frontier: The privacy hoax,'' Communications of the ACM, V42, No 2 (1999), pp. 17-19. Keyword search at ACM Portal
Web: Visit the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse www.privacyrights.org. Surf the section on Internet Privacy.
Web: Visit Privacy.org: privacy.org .
Web: Visit Electronic Privacy Information Center: www.epic.org.
Web: Visit Privacy International: www.privacyinternational.org.
Thursday:
L. Jean Camp, ``Web Security and Privacy: An American Perspective,'' in Richard A. Spinello and Herman T. Tavani, Readings in CyberEthics, Jones and Bartlett, 2001. pp 474 -- 486.
Roger Clark, ``Internet privacy concerns confirm the case for intervention,'' Communications of the ACM, V42, No 2 (1999), pp. 60-67. Keyword search at ACM Portal.
David G. Post, ``Of Black Holes and Decentralized Law-Making i n Cyberspace,'' in Richard A. Spinello and Herman T. Tavani, eds. Readings in CyberEthics, Jones and Bartlett, 2001. pp 135-148.

W9 (N5) Protecting Your Privacy: Browsers and Email

How public key encryption (PKE) works. How PKE is used in browsers (RSA, SSL) and email (PGP). Some problems that encryption can't solve: cookies, spyware, spam.

Mark Abrams, ed. World Wide Web: Beyond the Basics, Prentice Hall 1998. Chapter 12: Cryptography, pp 243--257.
H. X. Mel and Doris Baker, Cryptography Decrypted, Chapters 17 -- 20, pp. 177 -- 218.
Thursday:
Eric J. Gertler, Prying Eyes: Protect Your Privacy from People Who Sell to You, Snoop On You, and Steal From You,, Random House 2004. Chapter 7: Your Computer and the Internet, pp 169--216.
Privacy International, ``A Race to the Bottom: Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies.'' Downloaded from Privacy International www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-553961, 7/3/2007.

W10 (N12) Databases and Identity Theft

Privacy threats from online corporate and government databases. Identity theft.

Kevin D. Mitnick and William L. Simon, The Art of Intrusion, Chapter 7: Of course Your Bank is Secure -- Right? Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2006. pp 139--151.
Eric J. Gertler, Prying Eyes: Protect Your Privacy from People Who Sell to You, Snoop On You, and Steal From You,, Random House 2004. Chapter 2: Your Personal Information and the Public Record, pp. 16--50.
Thursday:
Tom Arnold, Internet Identity Theft: A Tragedy for Victims, A White Paper from the Technology Working Group, eBusiness Division, Software & Information Industry Association (SIAA), Washington DC, June 2000. Downloaded from National Center for State Courts: Public Access to Court Records www.courtaccess.org, 7/2/2007.
Marcia S. Smith, Identity Theft: The Internet Connection, Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report for Congress: Order Code RS22-82, March 16, 2005. Downloaded from opencrs.cdt.org/getfile.php?rid=31818, 7/2/2007.

Thanksgiving Week

W11 (N26) Security vs Surveillance

How and why people monitor your network and break in to your computer. A battle between good and evil, but which is which?

Third paper assignment is due. Fourth assignment is handed out.

Bruce Schneier, Secrets and Lies Wiley, 2000. Chapter 4 Adversaries, pp. 42 -- 58.
David Brin, The Transparent Society, Perseus Books, 1998. Chapter One: The Challenge of an Open Society, pp 3 -- 26.
Thursday:
Daniel J. Solove, Marc Rotenberg, and Paul M. Schwartz, Privacy, Information, and Technology Aspen Publishers. Section 2.A: Law Enforcement, Technology, and Surveillance; The Fourth Amendment and Emerging Technology. pp. 57--83.
Barbara Simons and Eugene H. Spafford, ``Inside risks: Risks of total surveillance,'' Communications of the ACM, V46, No 3 (2003), p. 120.

W12 (D3) Internet and National Security

How to protect the Internet (and its users) from terrorists and criminal types. What are the dangers?

Bruce Schneier, Secrets and Lies, Wiley Press, 2000. Chapter 11: Network Security, pp 176--187.
Kevin D. Mitnick and William L. Simon, The Art of Intrusion, Wiley Press, 2006. Chapter 2: When Terrorists Come Calling. pp 23 - 47.
Thursday:
Gabriel Weimann, www.terror.net: How Modern Terrorism Uses the Internet, Special Report 116, March 2004, United States Insitute of Peace. Downloaded from www.usip.org, 7/5/2007.
Ruth Walker, ``Terror online, and how to couteract it,'' Harvard University Gazette, March 3, 2005.

W13 (D10) Student Presentations

Third term paper due.
Student presentations of online work.
Wrap-up discussion.